Harris Rosen

The hotelier built his Orlando lodging empire from scratch, and he now controls about 5 percent of the local hotel market in terms of rooms. His influence on tourism politics is well known; he keeps a watchful eye on expenditures of the tourist tax and sits on the board of the International Drive Master Transit and Improvement District, which oversees trolley services and planning for International Drive. Rosen also is part of the ETC, a group of prominent I-Drive business owners who weigh in developments or issues of importance to the corridor. A philanthropist, Rosen has donated millions to the local community, including in the Tangelo Park neighborhood. He sits on the Board of the University of Central Florida and also has a line into county politics, with Orange County Commissioner Ted Edwards serving as his lawyer and business partner.

The hotelier built his Orlando lodging empire from scratch, and he now controls about 5 percent of the local hotel market in terms of rooms. His influence on tourism politics is well known; he keeps a watchful eye on expenditures of the tourist tax and sits on the board of the International Drive Master Transit and Improvement District, which oversees trolley services and planning for International Drive. Rosen also is part of the ETC, a group of prominent I-Drive business owners who weigh in developments or issues of importance to the corridor. A philanthropist, Rosen has donated millions to the local community, including in the Tangelo Park neighborhood. He sits on the Board of the University of Central Florida and also has a line into county politics, with Orange County Commissioner Ted Edwards serving as his lawyer and business partner. (Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel)

The hotelier built his Orlando lodging empire from scratch, and he now controls about 5 percent of the local hotel market in terms of rooms. His influence on tourism politics is well known; he keeps a watchful eye on expenditures of the tourist tax and sits on the board of the International Drive Master Transit and Improvement District, which oversees trolley services and planning for International Drive. Rosen also is part of the ETC, a group of prominent I-Drive business owners who weigh in developments or issues of importance to the corridor. A philanthropist, Rosen has donated millions to the local community, including in the Tangelo Park neighborhood. He sits on the Board of the University of Central Florida and also has a line into county politics, with Orange County Commissioner Ted Edwards serving as his lawyer and business partner.Ricardo Ramirez Buxeda, Orlando Sentinel